Gunman highlights risks to MPs

Police and ministers will review security at Victoria’s Parliament House after an attack on a protective services officer on Tuesday night.

It is believed the officer was assaulted just before 8.30pm after an altercation with a man who stole his gun and fled through Fitzroy Gardens.

The alleged offender, a 30-year-old from Chadstone, later turned the gun on himself. His body was found on train tracks on the eastern fringe of the city, near the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The officer has undergone surgery for a fractured skull. It is believed the man was known to police.

Police said the man had been asked to leave the area about 2.30pm on Tuesday after acting strangely.

Premier
Ted Baillieu
said the attack was a cause for great concern. Present construction work on the front steps had impaired the officer’s line of vision.

“I think there are some issues that have arisen around the construction site," Mr Baillieu said.

“That construction site is substantial and has changed to some extent the line of vision around the front steps of Parliament and I think there is an opportunity for a review of that. We will wait any advice that comes from Victoria Police."

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Mr Baillieu said the officers received the same weapons training as Victoria Police, and such officers had guarded Victorian Parliament for 25 years.

Protective services officers are administered by Victoria Police and employed at other locations around Melbourne including the state government offices at 1 Treasury Place, the courts, the city’s shrine and its railway stations.

Mr Baillieu said Victoria Police would conduct a review into protective services. The police are also investigating the attack and briefing Mr Baillieu.

He said protective services officers should have the right to carry a weapon. “They need to be appropriately serviced and provided with all the equipment they need," Mr Baillieu said.

He said he was unaware of the offender’s motivation.

“I’m not sure anyone could have anticipated what happened last night, in particular," he said.

The incident occurred while Parliament was sitting, with all MPs urged to remain inside the building.